Going into high school, I was a nervous wreck. I was nervous of who I may encounter and all the hard work. As an eighth grader, I pictured my high school teachers as being strict and challenging to us students, but I was wrong. High school isn’t how I expected it to be. All my teachers are nice, fun, and understanding, but there is one teacher who stands out the most to me: Master Sergeant Howie.

    Master Sergeant Howie is my Naval Science Instructor. When I first encountered him, it was during bootcamp. He seemed to be strict, mean, and intimidating. We had done much physical activity during the time, but he never pushed us past our limits. He told us to push at our own pace, which surprised me. As time continued to go by, I realized that Master Sergeant isn't as scary as he seems to be, in fact he’s actually an amazing man.

    I was so happy when I found out he was my naval science instructor for my ninth grade year. He assigned me the role of being the operator in our platoon. I felt that he saw potential in me, making me feel important. In class, he shows us videos, compares class discussions to situations we would understand, makes us laugh, and cares about our education. He teaches us real life situations that we need to know. One lesson I’m intrigued to learn more from him is fighting. He wants his cadets to know what to do in physically harmful situations. It intrigues me that he wants us to know how to defend ourselves, and I trust him to teach us what’s right.

    Master Sergeant used to be a Marine. It intrigues me to know he traveled around the world to fight for what’s right. Sometimes he will share stories with my class of his travels. For example, one day in class we were talking about fears. He shared a story with our class of a time he came face to face with a giant spider in a jungle and how he remained calm. Master Sergeant is such a strong and understanding man. He cares for his students and doesn’t favor one over another. I’m always happy to enter his class at the end of the day. Every class we have is interesting. Some days we may have class discussions, book work, watch videos, drill, or acting out scenes. His class is always one to look forward to even though it can be hot in his classroom.

    All in all, Master Sergeant Howie is the educator of the year in my eyes. He’s the type of instructor everyone would like. Yes, he seems intimidating at first, but he’s actually a fun, caring, and understanding instructor. You can talk to him about anything, and he will not tell another person what you discussed with him. He takes education seriously and wants to make sure we understand our lessons. In the beginning of the year he told my class that he does not have favorites, but he will be there to give us the education we need. I believe that he truly cares for all of his cadets and likes to see us strive throughout our high school years. He’s an amazing instructor that any cadet would be lucky to have.